“Just know that you are above and beyond all things and thoughts. What you want to be, you are it already. Desire nothing, for you lack nothing. The very seeking prevents you from finding.”
~Nisargadatta Maharaj
Dear ,
I'm excited about the upcoming 5-part course, Deep Trauma Healing, starting Saturday, February 12. Please click here for details and registration.
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If you look closely, you’ll see that the mind always tells you there is something wrong with this moment.
It tells you that what’s happening is not as it should be and that something needs to change. It draws you into believing you’re not good enough and need to figure out how to fix yourself. It says that people should be doing something different than they are actually doing.
The mind almost always inclines to the negative. It will tell you that the peace you really want is “out there,” available at some future time…if only you knew how to find it, if only you weren’t such a mess, if only you read the right book or watched the right video.
When we live in this “if only” mindset, how can we feel anything but sad, alone, and anxious? Because our present moment experience is defined by lack and inadequacy.
Caught in the mind’s grip, we think we’re missing what we need to be happy. And we’re disconnected from the love and freedom available right now.
Isn’t this how most of us live?
Thankfully, there is a solution to this problem of lack, and, no matter what you believe, true happiness is actually possible. But the compulsive mind won’t help you know it—you need to look outside the mind.
What’s amazing to realize is that in every moment there is a sacred choice.
- We can believe our thoughts—or take a breath.
- We can think about a better future—or open lovingly to what’s happening right now.
- We can stay stuck in the rut of robotic patterns—or shift to expanded consciousness and relax into infinite possibilities.
I am absolutely in love with the experience of being present. I love the sensitivity of being alive to feelings and sensations. I love feeling the tenderness of emotions and the deep relationships that are possible without fear and defensiveness.
And I love the spaciousness—the timeless, formless energy of pure being—that holds everything with total acceptance.
Sure, we could all be gripped by conditioned patterns if we want to be. But things get interesting once we fully understand that a choice is possible. We wake up into being conscious in the moments of our lives.
We feel into the limitation that patterns bring us. We become aware of how much the mind judges ourselves and others. And we answer the call of the heart into something greater.
Thoughts are limiting—and awareness is vast and infinite. Thoughts are repetitive and negative—and directly engaging with life reveals unlimited possibilities.
It doesn’t matter how many times you miss the opportunity to choose—because there is always another one. Every moment is so fresh, so alive!
Turn toward yourself and away from your thoughts. Step into the fullness of the present, the boundless space of being aware.
Then open to whatever you encounter with the deepest welcoming and an overflowing heart. This is what I love, and I’m sure you will love it, too.
Love to you...
Gail
Notes: You are most welcome to attend the next 5-part course, Deep Trauma Healing: Finding Ease and Well-Being in Everyday Life, starting Saturday, February 12.
This course is sponsored by Science and Nonduality (SAND). Click here for details and registration.
“This course has changed my life. I was deeply moved by how Gail held each person, modeling for us how to hold ourselves and each other in lovingkindness and presence.” ~Erica C.
"it is your kindness and teachings and the compassionate gentle way you offer of being present with and exploring these beliefs, that have made an absolute world of difference in my life."
My recent interview with Rick Archer of Buddha at the Gas Pump is here.
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